Contact sheet

ABSTRACT

A contact sheet used with a socket for connecting an integrated circuit having spherical terminals to a board. The contact sheet has protruding contact springs in some or all of numerous through holes provided in a sheet composed of an insulative elastic material, wherein the contact springs are composed of a conductive material and constituted by two or more cantilevers fixed onto the sheet by bonding or sandwiching one end thereof. Each cantilever has a lower supporting portion and a spherical terminal holding portion, the lower supporting portion is composed of a linear portion or a planar portion formed adjacently to a portion fixed to the sheet, and the spherical terminal holding portion is formed by vertically bending the other end of the cantilever toward one of two openings of a through hole. When an integrated circuit is mounted, the spherical terminal enters into a gap at the spherical terminal holding portion of the two or more cantilevers to cause the lower supporting portion to be flexed toward the other opening, and after the lower supporting portion comes in contact with the board, the spherical terminal holding portions of the two or more cantilevers are pushed and spread in a direction away from the portion of each cantilever that is fixed to the sheet. According to the contact sheet, oxide films are removed and reliable electrical conduction can be secured without crushing distal end portions of spherical terminals. Current passing distances in contact springs are shorter, so that the contact sheet can be ideally used for a high-frequency test board or a mounting board.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND THE RELATED ART

The present invention relates to a contact sheet used with a socket employed for connecting an integrated circuit having spherical terminals arranged in a grid pattern and a board, and more particurlarly to a contact sheet used with a thin socket employed for high-frequency testing or mounting.

In recent years, because of the demands for reduced sizes and higher speed in information processing equipment, the pitches in integrated circuits are increasingly becoming smaller, and the mounting method is shifting from through-hole to surface mounting, and the arrays of terminals are shifting from peripheral arrays to grid arrays. As a result, ball grid array (BGA) devices are becoming the mainstream of packages as they permit surface mounting even for grid arrays.

A socket is used between a BGA type integrated circuit device and a board when conducting a burn-in test or a high-frequency test of the integrated circuit, and the socket is also mounted on a board when replacing an integrated circuit. In a socket, all contacts must be in secure contact with both the terminals of an integrated circuit and terminals of a board in order to ensure sufficient electrical conduction.

On the other hand, in recent years, with the increasing speed of MPUs or memories, the demand for lower inductance with respect to faster clocks has been arising. To meet the demand, it is necessary to minimize the distance over which currents pass in a contact placed between a terminal of an integrated circuit and a terminal of a board.

As a thin connector or socket with a small pitch, a component called “an anisotropic conductive sheet” has conventionally been used. There is known, for example, a conductive sheet in which conductive elastomers or metal wires are arranged in an insulative elastomer (U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,790 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,700) and also one in which conductive particles are added (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-82521). FIG. 15 shows a conventional example wherein thin metal wires 31 are embedded in a silicone rubber 30 at a high density.

Furthermore, as conductive sheets to which considerations have been given to the aspects of BGAs that their spherical terminals are soft and their surfaces are made of solder coated with oxide films, there is one with dendrites grown on contact portions (U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,041), one in which cantilevers having protrusions are fixed on a flexible board (U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,837), one in which the surfaces of terminals on a flexible board have been provided with asperities by chemical processing or the like (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-32070), and one in which innumerable protrusions are formed by thermal spraying or the like (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-144440), etc.

Furthermore, as ones with a structure for avoiding contact with ball tips while destroying oxide films on solder surfaces, there is one having Y-shaped contacts (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-21847), and one inserted in finger springs (U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,255 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,606).

As the number of terminals of an integrated circuit increases, the force required for insertion increases. There is a contact sheet having a structure in which the foregoing force is reduced to zero, and spherical terminals are pushed laterally later by using a lever or the like (U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,870 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,008). As this type, one employing vertically long cantilevers is the mainstream. Moreover, there is a socket described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-55273 that permits replacement of contact portions while solving the problem peculiar to solder balls mentioned above.

However, in an anisotropic conductive sheet employing the elastomer as shown in FIG. 15, mostly, terminals having flat surfaces provided with gold plating are connected. If this conductive sheet is used for connection with a BGA having spherical terminals made of solder, solder surfaces will inevitably be dented, posing the problem of unstable electrical contact.

Furthermore, in those with asperities or protrusions formed on the surfaces of the terminals on the flexible boards, variations in height of terminals will cause insufficient electrical conduction in some circuits. In the Y-shaped contacts, the distance over which currents pass is relatively long, making them unsuited as contacts for high-frequency testing or mounting even though reliable electrical conduction can be ensured.

The present invention has been made with a view toward solving above the problems, and an object thereof is to provide a contact sheet that enables reliable electrical contact to be obtained by removal of an oxide film from a solder surface, the present invention is capable of accommodating variations in height or size of spherical terminals, prevents collapse of a tip, features a short distance over which currents pass, permits a zero insertion force (ZIF) structure to be implemented as necessary, and also enables a structure for permitting replacement to be implemented.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

More specifically, according to the present invention, there is provided a contact sheet used for a socket to connect an integrated circuit having spherical terminals and a board, having protruding contact springs in some or all of numerous through holes provided in a sheet composed of an insulative elastic material, wherein the contact springs are composed of a conductive material and constituted by two or more cantilevers fixed onto the sheet by bonding or clamping one end thereof, each cantilever has a lower supporting portion and a spherical terminal holding portion, the lower supporting portion is composed of a linear portion or a planar portion formed adjacently to a portion fixed to the sheet, the spherical terminal holding portion is formed by vertically bending the other end of the cantilever toward one of two openings of a through hole, the spherical terminal enters into a gap at the spherical terminal holding portion of the two or more cantilevers to cause the lower supporting portion to be flexed toward the other opening when the integrated circuit is mounted, and after the lower supporting portion comes in contact with the board, the spherical terminal holding portions of the two or more cantilevers are pushed and spread in a direction away from the portion of each cantilever that is fixed to the sheet.

Preferably, in the contact sheet set forth above, each contact spring is composed of three cantilevers, the three cantilevers are disposed virtually parallel to each other in the through hole, and two cantilevers on both ends of the three cantilevers and the middle cantilever are fixed to edges of the through hole that oppose each other. Preferably, in the contact sheet set forth above, each contact spring is composed of two cantilevers, the two cantilevers are disposed parallel to each other in the through hole, the two cantilevers are fixed to edges of the through hole that oppose each other, and dispositions of two cantilevers provided in a through hole of an arbitrary one column and dispositions of two cantilevers provided in a through hole of another column adjacent to the above one column have a mirror image relationship.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided a contact sheet used for a socket for achieving connection between an integrated circuit having spherical terminals and a board, having protruding contact springs in some or all of numerous through holes provided in a sheet composed of an insulative elastic material, wherein each of the contact springs is constituted by two or more cantilevers composed of a conductive material, the two or more cantilevers are respectively fixed to adjoining edges of the through hole at one end thereof so that they are oriented in parallel to each other, each cantilever has a lower supporting portion and a spherical terminal holding portion, the lower supporting portion is composed of a linear portion or a planar portion formed adjacently to a portion fixed to the sheet, the spherical terminal holding portions are formed by vertically bending the other ends of the two or more cantilevers toward one of two openings of a through hole, dispositions of two or more cantilevers installed in a through hole of an arbitrary one column and dispositions of the two cantilevers installed in a through hole of another column adjacent to the one column have a point symmetrical relationship, and when the integrated circuit is mounted, the spherical terminals push and spread the spherical terminal holding portions of the two or more cantilevers in a direction away from the portion of each cantilever that is fixed to the sheet and also flex the lower supporting portions toward a surface away from the sheet.

Preferably, in the contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, each cantilever is disposed such that it is parallel to a direction of a column to which the through hole wherein the cantilever is installed belongs. Furthermore, in the contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, it is preferable that each contact spring is composed of two or more cantilevers, the two cantilevers are disposed parallel to each other in the through hole, and the two cantilevers are fixed to edges of the through hole that oppose each other thereby to minimize a pressing force applied when an integrated circuit is mounted.

Furthermore, in the contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, it is preferable that the magnitude of an angle formed by a straight line connecting a contact point of a cantilever and a spherical terminal and a central point of the spherical terminal and a perpendicular drawn from the central point of the spherical terminal to the sheet ranges from 30 to 70 degrees in a process for mounting an integrated circuit having spherical terminals and in a state wherein the integrated circuit has been mounted.

Furthermore, in the contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, it is preferable that a cantilever is fixed to the sheet by bonding one end of the cantilever to one sheet composed of an insulative elastic material, or two sheets composed of an insulative elastic material are superposed and one end of the cantilever is bonded or sandwiched by the two sheets so as to fix the cantilever to the sheet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a first contact sheet in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 2(a) and (b) are schematic representations showing a mode for mounting an integrated circuit on the first contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, wherein FIG. 2(a) shows a state before mounting, and FIG. 2(b) shows a state after mounting;

FIGS. 3(a) and (b) are schematic representations showing another mode for mounting an integrated circuit on the first contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, wherein FIG. 3(a) shows a state before mounting, and FIG. 3(b) shows a state after mounting;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a second contact sheet in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of the second contact sheet in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 6(a) and (b) are schematic representations showing a mode for mounting an integrated circuit on the second contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, wherein FIG. 6(a) shows a state before mounting, and FIG. 6(b) shows a state after mounting;

FIGS. 7(a), (b), and (c) are schematic sectional views showing a mode of a cantilever in the first and second contact sheets in accordance with the present invention, wherein FIG. 7(a) shows one example, FIG. 7(b) shows another example, and FIG. 7(c) shows still another example;

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation illustrating balance of a force in the first and second contact sheets in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation illustrating a contact point of a contact spring and a spherical terminal in a contact sheet in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a contact sheet for application to a socket of a ZIF structure;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of a contact sheet for application to a socket of the ZIF structure;

FIGS. 12(a) and (b) are schematic representations showing a mode wherein a contact sheet in accordance with the present invention is applied to the ZIF structure and an integrated circuit is mounted thereon, wherein FIG. 12(a) shows a state before operation and FIG. 12(b) shows a state after operation;

FIGS. 13(a) and (b) are schematic representations showing a mode wherein an integrated circuit having an LGA is mounted on a contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, wherein FIG. 13(a) shows a state before mounting, and FIG. 13(b) shows a state after mounting;

FIG. 14 is a top plan schematic representation showing a further example of the first contact sheet of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a conventional contact sheet.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, a first contact sheet 5 in accordance with the present invention has protruding contact springs 3 in some or all of numerous through holes 2 provided in a sheet 1 formed of an insulative elastic material. The contact springs 3 are formed of a conductive material and constituted by two or more cantilevers 9 (9 a, 9 b, and 9 c) that are fixed to the sheet 1 by bonding, clamping, or other known means at one end thereof. Each of the cantilevers 9 a, 9 b, and 9 c has a lower supporting portion 10 and a spherical terminal holding portion 11, the lower supporting portion 10 is composed of a linear portion or a planar portion formed adjacently to a portion fixed to the sheet 1, and the spherical terminal holding portion 11 is formed by vertically bending the other end of the cantilever 9 toward one of two openings of the through hole 2.

When mounting an integrated circuit 7, a spherical terminal 6 of the integrated circuit 7 such as a BGA package enters in the gap between the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of two or more cantilevers 9 (9 a, 9 b, and 9 c), causing the lower supporting portions 10 of the cantilevers 9 to flex toward the other openings. After the lower supporting portions 10 come in contact with a board 8, the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the two or more cantilevers 9 are pushed and spread in a direction away from the portions of the individual cantilevers 9 that are fixed to the sheet 1 as illustrated in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 2(b). Reference numeral 4 denotes a spacer.

When the cantilever 9 of the contact spring 3 has a shape as shown in FIG. 3(a), the moment the spherical terminal 6 of the integrated circuit 7 such as a BGA package enters the gap of the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the cantilevers 9, the contact sheet 5 is pressed against the board 8, causing the spherical terminal holding portions 11 to be narrower. Entry of the spherical terminal 6 into the narrowed spherical terminal holding portions 11 causes the spherical terminal holding portions 11 to be pushed and spread in a direction away from the portions of the individual cantilevers 9 that are fixed to the sheet 1 as shown in FIG. 3(b).

In the contact sheet 5 mentioned above, the respective cantilevers 9 are long since they have the lower supporting portions 10 and the spherical terminal holding portions 11, and they, as springs, do not incur permanent set in fatigue when the spherical terminals are pressed against them. Moreover, since the spherical terminal holding portions 11 are vertically bent, they hardly spread laterally when subjected to vertical displacement of the spherical terminals. Therefore, variations in height of spherical terminals of integrated circuits or warps in integrated circuits or boards, if any, can be absorbed to ensure electrical conduction between an integrated circuit and a board.

Furthermore, the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the cantilevers 9 are formed by vertically bending one end of each of the cantilevers 9 toward one of two openings of each of the through hole 2, and the spherical terminal 6 pushes and spreads the respective cantilevers 9 to enter gaps of the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the respective cantilevers 9; hence, the spherical terminal 6 comes in contact with the cantilever 9 at a side surface thereof and a distal end portion of the spherical terminal 6 does not come in contact with the lower supporting portion 10, eliminating chances of crushing the distal end portion of the spherical terminal 6. Moreover, at the time of mounting an integrated circuit on a board, when the spherical terminal 6 enters in a gap of the spherical terminal holding portions 11 while pushing and spreading the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the cantilevers 9, an oxide film is scraped off by edges of end portions of the cantilevers 9, thus securing reliable electrical conduction. In addition, conduction between a terminal of the board 8 and the cantilevers 9 is accomplished when the spherical terminal 6 pushes and causes the lower supporting portions 10 of the cantilevers 9 to flex, causing a portion of the cantilevers 9 to come in contact with the terminal 20 of the board. Hence, the distance over which currents pass in the contact springs 3 can be shortened and an inductance in relation to fast clocks can be reduced, making the contact sheet ideally used for mounting and high-frequency testing. Specifically, in the contact sheet described above, the current passing distance in the contact springs can be reduced to about a radius of the spherical terminal, or 0.15 to 0.5 mm to be more specific.

In the contact sheet 5 set forth above, the respective cantilevers 9 are disposed such that they underlie the spherical terminal 6, allowing the lower supporting portions 10 of the respective arms 9 to be made longer. Accordingly, when mounting an integrated circuit on the board via the contact sheet 5, a large displacement can be allowed within the elasticity of the contact springs, so that unnecessary load will not be applied to the board. In addition, the contact springs will not break easily.

In the contact sheet described above, each of the contact springs 3 may be composed of three cantilevers 9 (9 a, 9 b, and 9 c), the three cantilevers 9 may disposed virtually parallel to each other in the through holes 2, and two cantilevers 9 a and 9 b on both ends of the three cantilevers 9 and the middle cantilever 9 c may be fixed to edges of the through holes 2 that oppose each other as shown in FIG. 1. This arrangement permits easier positioning of an integrated circuit having the spherical terminals 6 in relation to the contact sheet 5.

Furthermore, the contact sheet set forth above may be configured as shown in FIG. 4, wherein each contact spring 3 is formed of two cantilevers 9 (9 d and 9 e). The two cantilevers 9 are disposed parallel to each other in the through holes 2, and are fixed to edges of the through holes 2 that oppose each other. The disposition of the two cantilevers 9 d and 9 e installed in a through hole 2 a of one arbitrary column and the disposition of another two cantilevers 9 f and 9 g installed in a through hole 2 b of another column adjacent to the foregoing one column are in a mirror image relationship. The mirror image relationship of the dispositions of the cantilevers in adjoining columns permits easier positioning of an integrated circuit having spherical terminals in relation to the contact sheet 5. More specifically, if the contact sheet 5 is formed of two cantilevers 9, then a force is applied to the spherical terminal in a direction indicated by the unbroken arrows shown in FIG. 4, making it difficult to place the spherical terminal in the gap at the spherical terminal holding portions of the two cantilevers. However, the forces applied to the spherical terminals in the adjacent-columns counteract each other as shown in FIG. 4 when the cantilevers 9 of adjacent columns are disposed to carry the mirror image relationship, thus making positioning easier.

A second contact sheet in accordance with the present invention has protruding contact springs 3 in some or all of numerous through holes 2 provided in a sheet 1 formed of an insulative elastic material. The contact springs 3 are constituted by two or more cantilevers 9 formed of a conductive material as shown in FIG. 5. The two or more cantilevers 9 are individually fixed at one end thereof on adjoining edges of the through holes 2 such that they are parallel to each other, each of the cantilevers 9 having a lower supporting portion 10 and a spherical terminal holding portion 11. The lower supporting portion 10 is composed of a linear portion or a planar portion formed adjacently to a portion fixed to the sheet 1. The spherical terminal holding portion 11 is formed by bending the other end of the two or more cantilevers 9 toward one of two openings of a through hole, dispositions of two or more cantilevers 9 h and 9 i installed in a through hole 2 a of one arbitrary column and dispositions of two cantilevers 9 j and 9 k installed in a through hole 2 b of another column adjacent to the foregoing one column have a point symmetrical relationship.

When an integrated circuit 7 is mounted, a spherical terminal 6 pushes and spreads the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the two or more cantilevers 9 in a direction away from portions of the respective cantilevers 9 that are fixed to the sheet 1 and also flexes the lower supporting portions 10 toward a surface away from the sheet 1 as illustrated in FIG. 6(a) and FIG. 6(b).

For the same reasons explained in relation to the first embodiment of the contact sheet in accordance with the present invention, the contact sheet protects a distal end portion of a spherical terminal, ensures secure electrical conduction by removing an oxide film, and shortens a current passing distance in a contact spring, allowing inductance in relation to fast clocks to be reduced. The dispositions of the cantilevers 9 of adjoining columns are made point symmetrical to enable the contact springs 3 disposed in adjoining columns to cooperatively hold a spherical terminal, because the spherical terminal cannot be held by the contact springs 3 alone provided in the same single through hole 2 in the contact sheet 5 set forth above. In this case, it is preferable to dispose the cantilevers 9 so that they are oriented parallel to a direction of a column to which the through hole 2 where the cantilevers are installed belongs as shown in FIG. 5.

In the first and second contact sheets in accordance with the present invention, the cantilevers are bent to form the spherical terminal holding portions. There are no particular restrictions on how the cantilevers are bent as long as the spherical terminal can be set in a gap at the spherical terminal holding portions by pushing and spreading the spherical terminal holding portions. The spherical terminal holding portions are able to hold a spherical terminal at a portion other than a distal end portion of the spherical terminal, and an oxide film can be scraped off by the edges of the cantilevers when the spherical terminal pushes and spreads the spherical terminal holding portions. For instance, the cantilever may be bent at one point as illustrated in FIG. 7(a), it may be bent at two points as illustrated in FIG. 7(b), or it may be continuously bent into an arc shape as illustrated in FIG. 7(c). Furthermore, the cantilevers 9 may be formed by a long and slender plate-like member or by a linear member.

In the first and second contact sheets in accordance with the present invention, in the state where an integrated circuit having spherical terminals has been mounted, it is desirable that the force of the spherical terminal 6 pushing the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the cantilever 9 is greater than the force of the spherical terminal 6 pushing the contact springs 3 in a direction perpendicular to the sheet 1 as shown in FIG. 8. This effectively scrapes an oxide film of the spherical terminal and minimizes the force required for mounting or removing an integrated circuit, thereby preventing extra force from being applied to a board. More specifically, when mounting an integrated circuit having numerous terminals as an integrated circuit having a grid arrangement on a board, the force applied to the board is a total sum of forces applied by respective terminals of the integrated circuit. Hence, in order to prevent damage to the board, it is necessary to minimize the forces of spherical terminals pushing contact springs against the sheet in a vertical direction. Preferably, surfaces of the spherical terminals are scraped by 0.1 to 0.2 mm to effectively remove an oxide film.

In the first and second contact sheets in accordance with the present invention, in the process for mounting an integrated circuit having spherical terminals, wherein the circuit has been mounted, it is preferable that the magnitude of the angle formed by a straight line connecting a contact point of the cantilever 9 and the spherical terminal 6 and the central point of a spherical terminal 6 and a perpendicular, drawn from the central point of the spherical terminal 6 to the sheet 1, ranges from 30 to 70 degrees as illustrated in FIG. 9. If the angle is less than 30 degrees, then the distal end portions of the spherical terminals may be scratched, whereas if the angle exceeds 70 degrees, then it is difficult to effectively hold the spherical terminals. From the viewpoint of appropriately reducing the force of the spherical terminals pushing the contact springs against the sheet in the vertical direction, it is further preferable to set the magnitude of the angle, which is formed by the straight line connecting the contact point of the cantilever and the spherical terminal with a central point of the spherical terminal and a perpendicular drawn from the central point of the spherical terminal to the sheet, to 45 to 60 degrees. The angle mentioned above can be adjusted by appropriately adjusting the diameter of the spherical terminal, the thickness of a sheet constituting the contact sheet, and the angle at which the cantilever is bent.

The contact sheet in accordance with the present invention is also suitably used with a socket having a zero insertion force (ZIF) structure. For example, a contact sheet shown in FIG. 10 has protruding contact springs 3 in some or all of numerous through holes 2 provided in a sheet 1 formed of an insulative elastic material, and each of the contact springs 3 is formed of two or more cantilevers 9 made of a conductive material as in the case of the contact sheet of FIG. 5. The two or more cantilevers 9 are respectively fixed to adjacent edges of a through hole 2 at one end thereof such that they are oriented in parallel to each other, and each cantilever 9 has a lower supporting portion 10 and a spherical terminal holding portion 11. The lower supporting portions 10 are composed of linear portions or planar portions formed adjacently to portions fixed to the sheet 1, and the spherical terminal holding portions 11 are formed by bending the other ends of the two or more cantilevers 9 toward one of two openings of the through hole 2. Another contact sheet shown in FIG. 11 has a structure in which a spherical terminal holding portion 11 in a cantilever 9 of a contact spring 3 is split into two segments by providing it with a slit 12 lengthwise.

FIG. 12(a) and FIG. 12(b) illustrate examples wherein sockets of the ZIF structure have been configured using the contacts sheets shown in FIGS. 10 to 11 described above.

As shown in FIG. 12(a) and FIG. 12(b), in the ZIF structure, after the integrated circuit 7 has been mounted, it does not vertically shift; only a spacer 4 slides in the direction of an arrow (a lateral direction) of FIG. 12(b) to mount the integrated circuit 7. In this case, the side surface portion of the spacer 4 that comes in contact with the spherical terminal 6 is formed to have a slope surface so that it comes in contact with and pushes an upper portion of the spherical terminal 6. Hence, the spherical terminal 6 pushes and spreads the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the two or more cantilevers 9 in a direction away from the portions of the respective cantilevers 9 that are fixed to the sheet 1, and also flexes the lower supporting portions 10 toward a surface away from the sheet 1.

In the socket having such a ZIF structure, using a sheet of 10 to 40 μm as the contact sheet reduces the pressure of contact with the spherical terminal 6, so that the contact resistance of the whole can be reduced by increasing the number of contacts.

In the contact sheets in accordance with the present invention, the openings of the through holes may have a rectangular, triangular, round, elliptic or any other shape. However, the shape is preferably round. In addition, when the openings are round, the diameter preferably ranges from 0.2 to 1.2 mm. If the diameter is less than 0.2 mm, then manufacture will be difficult; if the diameter exceeds 1.2 mm, then no small pitch can be accomplished, meaning that means other than the present invention can be used.

Further preferably, the pitch of the through holes ranges from 0.25 to 1.5 mm. If the pitch is less than 0.25 mm, then sufficient assembly accuracy cannot be secured; if the pitch exceeds 1.5 mm, then no advantages of an integrated circuit will be provided.

A conductive material employed for the contact sheets in accordance with the present invention is required to have wear resistance, flexibility, oxidization resistance, and strength in addition to conductivity. It is especially desirable to use a spring material such as beryllium copper or nickel beryllium. Using these materials as the conductive material makes it possible to impart fatigue property and heat resistance to high temperatures to the contact sheets in accordance with the present invention.

Preferably, the thickness or size of the cantilever as the contact spring ranges from 0.01 to 0.1 mm, and more preferably, it ranges from 0.02 to 0.05 mm. This is because of the following reason: if the thickness or size is less than 0.01 mm, then the strength of the cantilever will be insufficient, making it difficult to obtain an appropriate contact load; if it exceeds 0.1 mm, then the elasticity range of the materials will be exceeded, so that terminals of an integrated circuit will not be able to take a sufficient displacement to press the cantilever against an element to be connected that exists on an opposite side of a sheet, making it difficult to secure a stable continuity.

An elastic material constituting the contact sheets is required to exhibit resistance to heat, weather, and a rubber such as a silicone rubber or a synthetic rubber, or a resin such as a polymer, a polyimide, or an engineering resin is used. A polyimide constituent, in particular, is suitably used.

Moreover, the contact sheets in accordance with the present invention can be ideally used as contact boards when mounting integrated circuits having spherical terminals on boards. To be more specific, the contact sheets can be ideally used when mounting integrated circuits provided with spherical terminals on a mounting board, testing board, etc. In particular, the contact sheets in accordance with the present invention can be suitably used for integrated circuits with grid arrays having terminal pitches ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 mm, the number of terminals thereof ranging from 500 to 2000. Reliable electrical conduction can be secured in integrated circuits having multi-pin grid arrays that have conventionally been prone to incur unstable electrical conduction if warps occur.

The terminals of integrated circuits may be spherical or planar (LGA: land grid array). FIG. 13(a) and FIG. 13(b) show examples wherein an LGA integrated circuit 15 is mounted on a board 8. A planar terminal 16 pushes from above spherical terminal holding portions 11 of two or more cantilevers 9, causing the spherical terminal holding portions 11 of the cantilevers 9 to be pushed and spread in a direction away from portions of the respective cantilevers 9 that are fixed to a sheet 1, thus securing contact.

The contact sheet in accordance with the present invention is manufactured according to, for example, a method described below.

First, a sheet formed of a conductive material is bonded to a sheet having numerous through holes and composed of an insulative elastic material, then etching or the like is performed thereon such that only portions where contact springs will be formed are left unetched, and the portions where the contact springs will be formed are cut and bent by press work or the like. As necessary, before or after the pressing work, the contact springs may be provided with plating. Lastly, another sheet composed of an elastic material is disposed on a side where the contact springs are exposed to complete the contact sheet in accordance with the present invention.

Alternatively, first, only the portions where the contact springs will be formed are taken out from a sheet formed of a conductive material by etching, pressing, etc., then the portions are sandwiched and bonded between two sheets having through holes and formed of insulative elastic material, and the laminate is subjected to cutting and bending work by pressing. The cutting and bending work by pressing or the like may be performed with the portions, where the contact springs will be formed, bonded to one of the sheets formed of an elastic material. Furthermore, the contact springs may be provided with plating before or after the pressing work.

The present invention will be described in more detail in conjunction with embodiments; however, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(First Embodiment)

A total of 529 through holes, 23 columns×23 rows, at 1.0-mm pitches were provided in a polyimide sheet (brand name: YUPIREX, produced by Ube Kosan Co., Ltd.) which is 50 μm thick and provided with a 10 μm-thick adhesive layer on one surface thereof. Each of the through holes is rectangular, measuring 0.5 mm long and 1.0 mm wide. As shown in FIG. 14, the through holes 2 were arranged such that the respective sides of the through holes 2 and the respective columns formed by the through holes 2 are oriented at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the respective sides of the polyimide sheet 1.

Next, a beryllium copper plate which is 30 μm thick was attached by thermocompression bonding onto a surface of a polyimide sheet that is provided with an adhesive layer, and etching was carried out, leaving sections where contact springs were to be formed.

Subsequently, another polyimide sheet provided with through holes and the polyimide sheet with the foregoing beryllium copper sections left unetched were bonded to each other by thermocompression bonding. At this time, the sheets were bonded such that the surface having the adhesive layer faced the beryllium copper sections.

Subsequently, the sections remaining in the rectangular through holes were cut by pressing and bent in the middle thereof to be formed into cantilevers having a predetermined shape. As necessary, heat treatment such as age hardening treatment may be performed at this stage. Thereafter, nickel/gold plating was conducted to produce the contact sheet in accordance with the present invention shown in FIG. 1.

When an integrated circuit having spherical terminals was mounted on a mounting board via the foregoing contact sheet, an oxide film was effectively removed and stable electrical conduction was obtained. Moreover, no crushed distal end portions of the spherical terminals were observed.

(Second Embodiment)

A total of 529 through holes, 23 columns×23 rows, at 1.0-mm pitches were provided in each of two polyimide sheets (brand name: YUPIREX, produced by Ube Kosan Co., Ltd.) which are 50 μm thick and provided with a 10 μm-thick adhesive layer on one surface each. Each of the through holes was rectangular, measuring 0.5 mm long and 1.0 mm wide. As shown in FIG. 14, the through holes 2 were arranged such that the respective sides of the through holes 2 and the respective columns formed by the through holes 2 are oriented at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the respective sides of the polyimide sheet 1.

In addition, a beryllium copper plate having a thickness of 30 μm was etched, leaving consecutive beams having a width of 0.12 mm unetched in which contact springs were to be formed.

Then, the etched beryllium copper plate was sandwiched between the two polyimide sheets mentioned above, and bonded by thermocompression bonding. The thickness of the bonded sheet was approximately 0.15 mm.

Subsequently, one end of each of two beams left in a rectangular through hole was cut by pressing and bent in the middle thereof to form it into a cantilever of a predetermined shape. Thereafter, nickel/gold plating was conducted to make the contact sheet in accordance with the present invention shown in FIG. 5.

When an integrated circuit having spherical terminals was mounted on a mounting board via the foregoing contact sheet, an oxide film was effectively removed and stable electrical conduction was obtained. Moreover, no crushed distal end portions of the spherical terminals were observed.

When the contact sheets in accordance with the present invention are used as contact boards for integrated circuits having spherical terminals, oxide films are removed and reliable electrical conduction can be secured without crushing distal end portions of spherical terminals. In addition, since current passing distances in contact springs are shorter, the contact sheets can be ideally used for high-frequency test boards or mounting boards. In particular, the contact sheets in accordance with the present invention are able to secure reliable electrical conduction in integrated circuits having small-pitch grid arrays that have been prone to suffer from unstable electrical conduction if a warp arises. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A contact sheet used With a socket for connecting an integrated circuit having spherical terminals to a board, comprising: protruding contact springs in some or all of numerous through holes provided in a sheet composed of an insulative elastic material, wherein: each of said contact springs is composed of a conductive material and constituted by two or more cantilevers fixed onto said sheet by bonding or sandwiching at one end thereof; said each cantilever has a lower supporting portion and a spherical terminal holding portion; said lower supporting portion is formed adjacently to a portion fixed to said sheet; said spherical terminal holding portion is formed by vertically bending the other end of said cantilever toward one of two openings of a through hole; and when said integrated circuit is mounted, said spherical terminal enters into a gap at the spherical terminal holding portion of said two or more cantilevers to cause said lower supporting portion to be flexed toward the other opening, and after said lower supporting portion comes in contact with the board, the spherical terminal holding portions of said two or more cantilevers are pushed and spread in a direction away from the portion of each cantilever that is fixed to said sheet.
 2. A contact sheet according to claim 1, wherein each contact spring is composed of three cantilevers, said three cantilevers are disposed substantially parallel to each other in said through hole, and two cantilevers on both ends of said three cantilevers and one cantilever in the middle are fixed to edges of said through hole that oppose each other.
 3. A contact sheet according to claim 1, wherein; each contact spring is composed of two cantilevers, said two cantilevers are disposed in parallel to each other in said through hole, and said two cantilevers are fixed to edges of said through hole that oppose each other; and dispositions of two cantilevers installed in a through hole of an arbitrary one column and dispositions of two cantilevers installed in a through hole of another column adjacent to said one column have a mirror image relationship.
 4. A contact sheet according to claim 2, wherein each cantilever is disposed such that it is parallel to a direction of a column to which a through hole wherein said cantilever is installed belongs.
 5. A contact sheet according to claim 1, wherein a magnitude of an angle formed by a straight line connecting a contact point of a cantilever and a spherical terminal and a central point of said spherical terminal and a perpendicular drawn from the central point of said spherical terminal to said sheet ranges from 30 to 70 degrees in a process for mounting an integrated circuit having spherical terminals and in a state wherein the integrated circuit has been mounted.
 6. A contact sheet according to claim 1, wherein one end of said cantilever is bonded to one sheet composed of an insulative elastic material so as to fix said cantilever to said sheet.
 7. A contact sheet according to claim 1, wherein two sheets composed of an insulative elastic material are superposed and one end of said cantilever is bonded to or sandwiched between said two sheets so as to fix said cantilever to said sheet.
 8. A contact sheet according to claim 1, wherein said conductive constituent is made of a spring material of beryllium copper or nickel beryllium.
 9. A contact sheet according to claim 1, wherein said insulative elastic material is a rubber or a resin.
 10. A contact sheet used with a socket for connecting an integrated circuit having spherical terminals to a board, comprising: protruding contact springs in some or all of numerous through holes provided in a sheet composed of an insulative elastic material, wherein: each of said contact springs is constituted by two or more cantilevers composed of a conductive material, and said two or more cantilevers are respectively fixed to adjoining edges of said through hole at one end thereof so that they are oriented in parallel to each other; each cantilever has a lower supporting portion and a spherical terminal holding portion; said lower supporting portion is formed adjacently to a portion fixed to said sheet; said spherical terminal holding portion is formed by vertically bending the other ends of said two or more cantilevers toward one of two openings of a corresponding through hole; dispositions of said two or more cantilevers installed in a corresponding through hole of an arbitrary one column and dispositions of said two cantilevers installed in a corresponding trough hole of another column adjacent to said one column have a point symmetrical relationship; and when the integrated circuit is mounted, at least one of said spherical terminals contacts two or more of said cantilevers and pushes and spreads said spherical terminal holding portions of said two or more cantilevers in a direction away from the portion of each cantilever that is fixed to said sheet.
 11. A contact sheet according to claim 10, wherein each cantilever is disposed such that it is parallel to a direction of a column to which a through hole wherein said cantilever is installed belongs.
 12. A contact sheet according to claim 10, wherein each contact spring is composed of two or more cantilevers, two cantilevers are disposed parallel to each other in said through hole, and two cantilevers are fixed to edges of the through hole that oppose each other thereby to minimize a pressing force applied when an integrated circuit is mounted thereon.
 13. A contact sheet according to claim 10, wherein a magnitude of an angle formed by a straight line connecting a contact point of a cantilever and a spherical terminal and a central point of said spherical terminal and a perpendicular drawn from the central point of said spherical terminal to said sheet ranges from 30 to 70 degrees in a process for mounting an integrated circuit having spherical terminals and in a state wherein the integrated circuit has been mounted.
 14. A contact sheet according to claim 10, wherein one end of said cantilever is bonded to one sheet composed of an insulative elastic material so as to fix said cantilever to said sheet.
 15. A contact sheet according to claim 10, wherein two sheets composed of an insulative elastic material are superposed and one end of said cantilever is bonded to or sandwiched between said two sheets so as to fix said cantilever to said sheet.
 16. A contact sheet according to claim 10, wherein said conductive constituent is made of a spring material of beryllium copper or nickel beryllium.
 17. A contact sheet according to claim 10, wherein said insulative elastic material is a rubber or a resin. 